Tetsuya Nakazato

A quantitative extraction method for the determination of trace amounts of both butyl- and phenyltin compounds in sediments by gas chromatography-inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry.

A simple and reliable extraction method was developed for quantitative determination of both butyl- and phenyltin compounds in sediments by capillary gas chromatography combined with inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (GC-ICP-MS). Both types of organotin compounds were extracted quantitatively from sediment by mechanical shaking into tropolone-toluene and HCl-methanol. After phase separation and pH adjustment, these organotins were ethylated with sodium tetraethylborate. The method was evaluated by analyzing PACS-2 and NIES No. 12 sediment certified reference materials. The dibutyltin (DBT; 1.14 +/- 0.02 micrograms g-1) and tributyltin (TBT; 1.01 +/- 0.04 micrograms g-1) values observed in PACS-2 sediment closely matched the certified values (DBT, 1.09 +/- 0.15; TBT, 0.98 +/- 0.13 microgram g-1 as tin). The monobutyltin (MBT) value was higher (0.62 +/- 0.02 microgram g-1) by more than two fold over the reference value (0.3 microgram g-1 as tin). The concentrations of TBT (0.18 +/- 0.04 microgram g-1) and triphenyltin (TPhT; 0.0099 +/- 0.002 microgram g-1) in the NIES No. 12 sediment were also in good agreement with the certified and reference values of TBT (0.19 +/- 0.03 microgram g-1 as compound) and TPhT (0.008 microgram g-1 as compound), respectively. Recoveries of TBT, tripentyltin (TPeT) and TPhT from spiked sediments were satisfactory (TBT, 102 +/- 3.4%; TPrT, 96 +/- 3.4%; TPhT, 99 +/- 8.5%). The detection limits as tin were in the range 0.23-0.48 ng g-1 for a 0.5 g sample size. It is also noteworthy that clean-up of the extract is not necessary because of the superior selectivity of ICP-MS detection. The present method was successfully applied to marine sediment samples.

High-performance liquid chromatographic determination of pyrophosphate in the presence of a 20,000-fold excess of orthophosphate.

An HPLC method was based on anion-exchange separation of pyrophosphate (diphosphate) and orthophosphate and postcolumn spectrophotometric detection at 140 degrees C with a molybdenum(V)-molybdenum(VI) reagent. The reagent was easy to prepare, stable for at least 6 months at room temperature, and ready for the determination of pyrophosphate and orthophosphate by the so-called heteropoly blue method without use of any reducing agent. A photodiode-array detector for HPLC indicated the spectral characteristics of the heteropoply blue complex that was detectable at 330-800 nm. The HPLC method had a wide dynamic range from 3 x 10(-7) to 5 x 10(-4) M for both pyrophosphate and orthophosphate with a relative standard deviation of measurement of 10 approximately 2%. Pyrophosphate of 5 x 10(-7) and 5 x 10(-6) M, respectively, could be determined in the presence of a 20,000-fold excess of orthophosphate; 0.01 and 0.1 M.

Pulmonary Inflammation of Well-Dispersed Multi-Wall Carbon Nanotubes Following Intratracheal Instillation: Toxicity by Fiber of 1–5 µm in Length

The pulmonary toxicity of multi-wall carbon nanotubes (MWCNT) were examined by intratracheal instillation. We prepared a well-dispersed MWCNT dispersion including MWCNTs of 3.71 µm geometric average length. The fiber length of most of the MWCNTs in the dispersion was 10 µm or less. The MWCNT dispersion was administered to rat lung by single intratracheal instillation at doses of 0.2 mg and 0.6 mg/rat. Bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) was collected at 3 days, 1 week, 1 month, 3 months, and 6 months after instillation. The influences of the longer MWCNTs on the induction of inflammation and oxidative stress were examined by the number of neutrophils, cytokine induced neutrophil chemoattractant-1 (CINC-1), CINC-2, CINC-3 and HO-1 in the BALF. Additionally, ho-1 gene expression in the lung was examined. The intratracheal instillation of MWCNT induced transient inflammation dose dependently in the lung. The number of neutrophils was highest at 3 days after instillation and then decreased. However, the neutrophils in the MWCNT administered animals tended to be higher than in the control group until 3 months after instillation. The CINC-1 and CINC-2 concentrations in the BALF increased at 1 month after instillation. There were no significant differences in CINC-3 and HO-1 between the MWCNT administered animals and the control animals. These results revealed that the MWCNTs of 1–10 µm in length induced persistent inflammation in rat lung. There were no remarkable differences between the MWCNTs in the present study and previously reported, shorter MWCNTs prepared from “the same” raw MWCNT material.

Influence of charge on adduct formation of [M(phen)3]z+ (M=Ru2+, Co3+, Si4+) with 1,10-phenanthroline in aqueous solution

Adduct formation of the inert complexes Ru(phen)32+, Co(phen)33+ and Si(phen)34+ with 1,10-phenanthroline (phen) has been studied by potentiometry and calorimetry in aqueous solution containing 0.1 mol dm−3 NaCl as an ionic medium at 298 K. Formation of a 1:1 adduct, in which planar 1,10-phenanthroline molecules are stacked, has been found for all the inert complexes and their formation constants, enthalpies and entropies were obtained. Adduct formation constants are hardly influenced by the ionic charges of the metal center. The enthalpy values are all negative, indicating that a specific π–π interaction operates between stacked 1,10-phenanthroline molecules. The corresponding entropy values are positive for Ru(phen)32+ and Co(phen)33+, while it is negative for Si(phen)34+. The positive entropies indicate that reduction of hydrophobic hydration upon stacking also plays a key role in the adduct formation. Both enthalpy and entropy values significantly decrease with increasing charge, and they strongly compensate to give similar formation constants. This implies that hydrophobic hydration around aromatic rings within the inert complexes is reduced to a greater extent with increasing charge, Ru(phen)32+<Co(phen)33+<Si(phen)34+. 1,10-Phenanthroline forms protonated H(phen)+ and H(phen)2+ species in an acidic solution, and 1,10-phenanthroline molecules are stacked in the latter. The enthalpy and entropy of formation of H(phen)2+ are significantly negative, also indicating that π–π interaction play an essential role in the formation of H(phen)2+. On the other hand, both the enthalpy and entropy of solution of 1,10-phenanthroline remain unchanged in solution containing NaCl over the range 0.05–1 mol dm−3, suggesting that hydrophobic hydration shells are restricted at the vicinity of 1,10-phenanthroline.

Detection systems with a photodiode-array detector for flow-injection and high-performance liquid chromatographic determination of phosphinate, phosphonate and diphosphonate

Abstract Spectrophotometric detection systems for flow-injection analysis and high-performance liquid chromatography were designed for the determination of phosphinate, phosphonate, diphosphonate and isohypophosphate of lower oxidation numbers. Preoxidation and/or hydrolysis of these compounds to orthophosphate by peroxodisulphate in an oxidation reactor (140°C) were followed by a colour reaction with a molybdenum(VI) reagent in a second reactor. A photodiode- array detector (200–800 nm) was used to obtain the spectrophotometric characteristics of the coloured species. An unpredicted absorption spectrum was observed for the reaction product between phosphinate and molybdenum(VI). Both advantages and disadvantages of using an anion-exchange column (TSKgel SAX) for the separation of monomers and dimers, including orthophosphate and diphosphate (pyrophosphate), are discussed.